Michigan Supreme Court Hears Argument On Scope of RLUIPA

Yesterday the Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Greater Bible Way Temple of Jackson v. City of Jackson, a case raising the question of whether a church can invoke the protections of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when seeking rezoning of property in order to build an assisted living apartment complex. The Associated Press reports that the city of Jackson's attorney, Gerald Fisher, argued that building housing for the general public and charging rent is a commercial, not a religious, enterprise. However the church's attorney, Mark Koerner, argued that providing housing for the disabled and elderly is central to the church's religious mission. (See prior related posting.)